Tag Archives: 1910s

August 5, 2015

High Above Cleveland

By C.E. Ryan
High Above Cleveland. RPPC. Private Collection.

High Above Cleveland. RPPC. Private Collection.

I absolutely love this funny and interesting picture. The composition is great, showing a real view of Cleveland on the bottom half with the ‘plane’ on top. The loose wheel and the feigned expression of concentration on the gent holding it made me laugh. And the smiling one on the left getting into it, pointing down to the ‘city below’. Too much.

Only one sitter is IDed: Sam Hulting on the right. I found out a bit about him. He was born in 1894 in Sweden and was a first generation immigrant who settled in Gary Indiana. He married a lady named Amanda a year his junior, and in 1923 he would have an only child, a daughter he named Eleanor. This picture was taken in the 1910s when Sam was in his early twenties.

Photographer: Pinch’s Novelty Photo Postals. 226 Superior N. W., Cleveland. Ohio.

RPPC: AZO 1904-1918

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July 28, 2015

You’ll get yours, cheat!

By C.E. Ryan

Oh, the violence! You wonder if those two teens saw beer bottle fights with their own eyes to stage this one (the answer is probably yes). I love the details like the cards tucked into the trousers’ cuffs on the second one, and the sign on the first. The teen on the left is giving the camera a knowing look as if saying “he thinks I didn’t see him…” He is casually dressed with his white tie over a long-sleeved polo, and he’s wearing white laced sneakers high school basketball players wore too.

RPPC: NOKO 1907-1920s

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July 27, 2015

Eight Ohio Edwardian gents lounging in nature

By C.E. Ryan
Gentlemen in nature with a tin of Bagdad tobacco. RPPC. Private Collection.

Gentlemen in nature with a tin of Bagdad tobacco. RPPC. Private Collection.

This gorgeous group picture is my very favorite in this collection of RPPCs.  What was in the water of that small town? I want to know. :)

These gents are surrounded by nature and a tree in full blossom, with a bouquet of white flowers to the front center. Removed hats, coats and shoes lay on the ground too. This RPPC was sent from Ada, Ohio on May 21, 1911 to a lady named Florence in Elmira, New York, and talks of a double wedding.

rppc-lounging-in-nature-back

Hello Florence,

Glad to hear that you are coming to the double wedding. You’ll have to hurry though, if Foster keeps progressing as fast as at present maybe he’ll take warning and tie the knot [sic] before you get here. Harry.

Foster just couldn’t wait to get married, could he? (I think we all know what Harry meant by “progressing” ha ha). He,  Harry and the second groom-to-be are most likely on this picture. Who’s who though? Close ups:

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July 25, 2015

1910s young man with the upturned collared shirt

By C.E. Ryan
RPPC. Private Collection.

RPPC. Private Collection.

He has his collar upturned and it looks like an all-in-one dress shirt + collar. This gent was an early adopter.

And there’s something of a defiant sneer behind this half smile. I’m willing to bet his father of the more conservative, detachable starched collar camp didn’t like that his son wore those shirts.

I can hear the father say “Get this travesty of a shirt off and get a proper collar! What is this world coming to? You look undone!”, to which this young gent replied something like “You and your stuffy old ways! I’ll wear what I want!”

Think I’m exaggerating? :) For us today this may seem like a ridiculous issue, but there was an uproar over the adoption of collared shirts into the mainstream. They were thought to make a man not look like a proper gentleman. Oh, the decaying of society! The British were especially against this trend coming from America. Surprised much? Well, they lost this battle.

rppc-loup-city-gent-2

Photographer: Elsner Studio. Loup City. Nebraska

RPPC: AZO 1904-1918

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July 22, 2015

A 1912 September day in the study

By C.E. Ryan

September 1912 young man at desk. RPPC. Private Collection.

A studious looking gent at his desk, his coats and hats hanging behind him, and with a pile of books stacked by the wall. There’s an ink bottle on the table, and the calendar dates this picture to September 1912. The window is open with the blinds closed to shield the room from the sun.

He seems to be gazing off, wishing to look serious. I love indoor pictures like this. I find there’s always so much to look at.

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